After seven consecutive quarters of year-on-year decline in Southeast Asia, Samsung has enjoyed a “slight recovery”, according to the latest Canalys data.
And although its market share has dipped compared to the second quarter of 2023 from 20% to 18%, its overall sales are higher thanks to a growing pie. Meanwhile, Chinese brands are making the most of it, with the likes of Xiaomi (37%), Vivo (37%) and OPPO (24%) enjoying strong year-on-year growth for the quarter.
Southeast Asia smartphone shipments experienced a 14% year-on-year growth in Q2 2024, reaching 23.9 million units.
Samsung shipped 4.4 million units. In the same quarter of 2023 it shipped 4.2 million.
OPPO (excluding OnePlus) returned to second position, shipping 4.2 million units for a market share of 17%, Canalys said.
“In third place, Xiaomi’s push in the low end saw it close the gap with 4.0 million units and a market share of 17%. Vivo recaptured fourth spot with 3.4 million units and 14% market share.”
After spiking in Q1 2024 TRANSSION’s shipments slowed and it finished fifth with 3.3 million units (14% share).
Phones from other companies represented 19% of the market, down from 24% in the same quarter of 2023. There were 4.6 million units shipped.
“The Southeast Asia smartphone market’s recovery is being driven by a macroeconomic recovery and growing consumer sentiment,” said Canalys analyst Le Xuan Chiew.
Canalys said that in the mass market segment, “Xiaomi and TRANSSION lead with aggressive pricing and sales incentives, capitalising on the region’s price sensitivity
“To support this growth, Xiaomi is also expanding its channel presence. For example, in Malaysia, according to Canalys’ monthly tracker, Xiaomi’s telco shipments have grown significantly since April, as it listed devices across all major telcos for the first time, driving volume with the affordable Redmi 13C 5G to align with government efforts to drive 5G devices to the masses.”
OPPO launched the A60 in the US$100-200 price segment and “enhanced its presence in the mid-to-high-end market by introducing the Reno12 series, and brought the popular A3 Pro series from mainland China to the Southeast Asian market”.
Chiew said Samsung has “realigned its global strategy with laser focus on the high-end market”.
“By investing heavily in marketing and creating exclusive pop-up events to showcase its AI capabilities, the company aims to enhance consumer awareness and drive device upgrades,” he said.
